Sept 22 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks looked set to rise at the open on Thursday, with the Nasdaq aiming at a record intraday high, a day after the Federal Reserve stood pat on interest rates.

While the risks to economic outlook were roughly "balanced", the Fed maintained rates as inflation continued to run below its 2 percent target and members saw room for improvement in the labor market.

The central bank slowed the pace of future hikes and cut its longer run interest rate forecast to 2.9 percent from 3 percent, but sent a strong signal for a move by the end of this year.

The dollar index declined 0.4 percent on Thursday, and was on track to mark the second straight day of losses after the central bank's decision.

"The Fed probably appeared less hawkish than what the markets had expected," said Ryan Larson, head of equity trading at RBC Global Asset Management in Chicago. "I think the market continues to be focused on the Fed pushing a hike for later as a good thing rather than bad."

Wall Street rose on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq closing at a record high as the rate decision whetted investor appetite for equities.

The consensus among economists is for a hike in December as the Fed's November meeting comes right around the U.S. Presidential elections.

The probability of a November hike stands at a modest 12.4 percent, and rises to 58.4 percent for December, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Adding some support to the Fed's plans for at least one hike this year was a report that showed the number of Americans applying for unemployment last week fell to a two-month low.

A report from the National Association of Realtors is expected to show existing home sales rose to a 5.45 million-unit rate in August from 5.39 million units in July. The data is due at 10:00 a.m. ET.